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The Army lost fewer soldiers to on-duty fatal ground accidents in fiscal 2021 than any previous year on record, according to the Army Combat Readiness Center.
The nine soldiers lost in fatal ground accidents is 36% less than the previous fiscal year, according to the end-of-fiscal-year accidental soldier loss data compiled by officials.
Overall, the Army lost 20 soldiers during the fiscal year, with 11 lost in aviation mishaps. That includes six Army Guard soldiers lost in two separate Black Hawk helicopter crashes.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jesse Anderson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 George “Geoff” Laubhan and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Peltzer were killed during a Feb. 2 crash near Boise, Idaho. All three were members of Idaho’s 1st Battalion, 183rd Aviation Regiment.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial died in a Jan. 20 crash near Mendon, New York. All three were members of New York’s 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment.
Army officials said the 20 soldiers lost on duty in 2021 were also an all-time low, four below any previous year. Still, a rash of training deaths earlier this year, including the Guard helicopter crashes, prompted investigations and hearings in Congress related to the concerns of lawmakers.
Army investigators found no material problems or common piloting errors connected to the UH-60 Black Hawk crashes, officials said.
Army leaders said the decrease in on-duty fatalities came even as the force returned to near-normal training tempos following reduced operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Leaders at every echelon should be proud of this accomplishment,” said Brig. Gen. Andrew C. Hilmes, the commanding general of the Army Combat Readiness Center and director of Army Safety. “While one soldier lost to a preventable mishap is one too many, we see in the results that engaged leadership is fundamental to loss prevention.”
But while on-duty fatal accidents are at historic lows, off-duty mishaps rose in 2021.
Those accidents accounted for 87 deaths, a 20% increase from fiscal 2020. Off-duty accidents “continue to be the greatest killer of soldiers,” officials said.
“Addressing off-duty risky behaviors in our younger soldiers, primarily in the 18-24 year age group, remains one of our greatest challenges,” Hilmes said.
